SFS to Precede Next Tour with Preview Performances

Michael Tilson Thomas with the San Francisco Symphony (courtesy of the San Francisco Symphony)

At the end of next month, the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) and Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas will embark on a short tour of Southern California that will take in three cities: Los Angeles (March 27 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall), Santa Barbara (March 28, at the Granada Theatre), and Costa Mesa (March 29 at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall). The programming for all three of these concerts will be the same, presenting two iconic works from the first half of the twentieth century. Violinist Gil Shaham will be soloist in a performance of Alban Berg’s violin concerto, which will be followed by Gustav Mahler’s fifth symphony in C-sharp minor. As has been the case in the past, this same program will be given “preview” performances in Davies Symphony Hall as the final subscription offerings for the month of March. At those performances the Berg concerto will be recorded for future release on SFS Media.

This concert will be given four performances in Davies, at 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 22, Friday, March 23, and Saturday, March 24, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 25. Ticket prices range from $39 to $159. They may be purchased online through the event page for this program on the SFS Web site, by calling 415-864-6000, or by visiting the Davies Box Office, whose entrance is on the south side of Grove Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street. In addition, the event page has  a free podcast about the Mahler symphony hosted by KDFC’s Rik Malone, as well as sound clips from previous SFS performances of both selections on the program. Flash must be enabled to listen to both the podcast and the sound clips. Finally, the Inside Music talk will be given by Scott Foglesong, beginning half an hour before the performance. Doors will open fifteen minutes before the talk begins.